know your worth, by leila khalil

Hey people! I rarely repost other's written content on my blog, but I was very happy to read this article on Inspired by This today. As wedding vendors, we are constantly learning, growing, networking, attending seminars and continuing education courses, and gaining extremely valuable experience with each and every wedding we complete as legit business owners in a creative field.
It is sometimes hard to articulate why someone should invest in Coordination services when they can find someone else to do "the same thing" for a couple hundred dollars.

I have heard so many horror stories from people who hired inexperienced Coordinators, someone just starting, their Mom's friend or a cousin, and by the time they come to me {or another experienced group of Coordinators I recommend}; it's either a really bad wedding regret or I am already booked.

Don't get me wrong, everyone has to start somewhere, and I am all for it! But one can't expect the same quality or level of service. Bottom line, like the old adage says "You get what you pay for." In relation to all wedding vendors, this is true. For Wedding Planning and Coordination, isn't it important that the person you hire to bring everything together from this long planning process, tie up loose ends, direct and/or manage the families, friends, bridal party, other vendors, the venue, and manage "disasters" knows what they are doing and is confident in {and has experiences most} every situation?

KNOW YOUR WORTH by Leila Khalil

I’m always inspired when I hear my good friend Simon T. Bailey speak, he has such a natural ability to put things in perspective and encourage others to focus on what’s truly important to you as a person and your business. I love him! One of his favorite anecdotes is about the famed artist Pablo Picasso and it goes a little something like this:

Picasso was eating in a cafe when a woman recognized him and asked him to sketch her a quick picture. Picasso said, “Sure!” and began sketching on a napkin. When he finished he handed it to the woman and said, “That’ll be $50,000.” The woman responded, “Why?! That took you 5 minutes!” and Picasso responded, “No, it took me 50 years.”

I absolutely love this story as it serves as a reminder to know your worth. When meeting with and booking clients it’s so important that we know and are confident in what we have to offer. I hear stories all the time from wedding professionals about clients trying to negotiate prices, change packages, etc. While under certain circumstances that may be perfectly acceptable, it shouldn’t be happening on a frequent basis. If someone doesn’t appreciate our value and our work, then perhaps they’re not the best fit for us. Most of us have spent years getting to where we are – all that time and experience is worth something.

If you’re a photographer, the bride isn’t just paying you to shoot your special day, she’s paying you for the knowledge you obtained from every other wedding you’ve shot, past mistakes you’ve learned from, conferences you’ve attended and classes you’ve taken.

If you’re a planner, floral designer or offer any other kind of service it’s the same idea. Like Picasso, we should be confident in our skills and understand how much it took us to get there. If we know our worth and seek to only work with those who understand our value then we’re free to do what we do best!